If you are like me, you’re probably wondering why your neck hurts all the time. Well, I have the answer! And, it’s probably in your hand right now. It’s your phone. What does your phone have to do with your neck?! Keep, reading and I will explain it all to you.

The proper medical term is cervical strain with cervicalgia. The medical definition is neck pain and damage sustained from frequent neck tilt at 30 degrees or greater for extended amounts of time. The common term used by many chiropractors to describe this phenomenon is “text neck”.

So, why is this being hailed as a phenomenon? Studies show that 79% of people aged 18-44 have a wireless device in their hands 90% of the time they are awake. This means that ALOT of people are staring DOWN at their phones ALL THE TIME.

Text neck commonly causes neck pain and soreness, upper back pain, muscle spasms, shoulder pain and possibly pinched nerves. These symptoms are the result of your head being tilted more than 15 degrees for an extended amount of time.. According to the image below, the more your head tilts forward, the more pounds of pressure your head places on your spine. At just 15 degrees, the weight of your head more than doubles!

This can easily be prevented by taking just a few easy steps to correct the problem. First, hold your phone at eye level. It might feel a little awkward at first, but at the end of the day your neck will thank you. Second, if you continue to look down, be mindful of the position (no more than 15 degrees), and take frequent breaks from looking down.

If you suffer from constant neck pain, you can seek treatment to ease your pain. One or a combination of the following services are used to align the spine, relieve pain, and strengthen the core and neck muscles:

chiropractic

massage therapy

acupuncture

heat and ice therapies

EMS

physical therapy

You can check out a video that can tell you more about neck strain by clicking here.

If you are suffering from neck pain, please call the office at (304) 263-4927 today to schedule an appointment.

In a simple, one-word answer: YES. But, this would be the shortest blog post ever written, so I will elaborate on why it is imperative that every person supplement their diet with a good multi-vitamin.

Even the healthiest of eaters should be taking a multi-vitamin daily. Why? Because taking a multi-vitamin is like an insurance policy. You may think you don’t need it, but you don’t want to find out when you do need it that you don’t have it. Human bodies require over 40 nutrients daily to function in an optimal capacity. And, while a healthy diet may help, it simply won’t give you what you need on a daily basis. And, here’s why.

Fruits and vegetables grown today have less nutrients today than 50 years ago. What?! Yes. Seriously. Agricultural practices over the last 50 years have been designed to increase produce size, shorten the growth rate and improve pest resistance in order to feed the masses, however maintaining the nutrient value and content has fallen by the wayside. Pair this with the constant soil depletion from continual growth with little to no crop rotation and it makes for much less nutrient dense produce. Studies over the last ten years have proven a reliable decline in protein, calcium, phosphorous, iron, B2, B6, C, E and zinc in most fresh produce corporately grown today.

So, what can we do to prevent nutrient deficiency? First of all, keep your diet as clean and as a organic as possible. Also, get to know where your food comes from and who grows it. If you go to a local farmer’s market, you are going to get more nutritionally dense produce than at the grocery store. Ask them about crop rotation, heirloom seeds and if they use pesticides. Or better yet, start your own victory garden, if possible. Your body will thank you for every step you take to provide it with the proper fuel.

With that being said, a healthy diet isn’t enough. Remember that cereal commercial where they would stack up 16 bowls of generic cereal and compare it to one bowl of the cereal they were selling? Well, it’s just like that! British Food Journal studies concluded that we would have to eat eight oranges in order to get the same amount of vitamin A our grandparents got 50 years ago in just one orange.

This is where supplementation comes in. No one wants to eat up to 8 times the amount of fruits and vegetables everyday just to get the minimum amount of vitamins and minerals your body needs to optimally function. And, this doesn’t even begin to address the amount your would have to eat if you had a nutritional deficiency! Nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in at least one vitamin or mineral (most likely potassium), therefore a whole foods multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is essential to your health and well-being.

Want to know more about whole foods based multi-vitamins? Do you want to know where to find a trusted brand of vitamins? We always recommend Standard Process supplements in our office. You can go here to learn more about how their whole food supplements are made and you can call the office to place an order.

Whether it be Aunt Ethel’s bum knee or Grandpa’s shoulder from a war wound, we all know someone who can predict foul weather by the amount of pain in a certain joint. Although many of us just tend to roll our eyes at the notion, it turns out that it might have some validity to it!

Studies have proven that changes in the humidity, temperature and barometric pressure affect the pressure inside our body. Specifically, it changes the amount of expansion allowed by our tissue and changes the way our body interprets sensations. When the temperature drops, our body’s natural reaction is to preserve body heat to maintain survival.

The body contracts its muscles in order to have less space to heat, but this also makes us less flexible. In addition to the cold, when the barometric pressure increases, it presses against the body from the outside; preventing the tissues and muscles surrounding the joints from being able to fully expand. This winter weather combination packs quite a punch with stiff and achy muscles and why we are more likely to sustain muscle related injuries during cold weather.

But, that isn’t all! When the barometric pressure suddenly drops, say right before a snowstorm, there is less pressure on the tissues. This allows them to expand in all directions, including into the joint the tissue is surrounding, placing extra pressure against those nerve endings. This explains the achy joints that have people saying they can predict bad weather by the presence of joint pain.

So, now that we know why we hurt, what can we do to stave off the pain during these cold winter months?? Well, here’s a few tips that can have you feeling better quickly:

Dress in layers. When the body is sufficiently maintaining proper temperature, it will not be as prone to contracting the muscles to sustain body heat.

Properly warm up muscles before physical activity. Whether you are shoveling snow or going for a run, it is imperative that your muscles be warm and stretched ahead of time to prevent injury.

Chiropractic. Having any joints out of alignment will only heighten the pain sensations sent by the tissue’s nerve endings, increasing the pain felt during cold weather. Maintenance adjustments are especially important during the winter months!

Acupuncture. Focusing on all natural, non-narcotic pain relief is always the best alternative and should be your first line of defense when the pain becomes intense.

Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that historical texts date its usage as far back as 2000 years ago. The act of acupuncture is defined as the insertion of very thin (practically painless) needles into the skin at specific locations in order to influence proper flow of blood in the body.

Traditional Chinese theory explains the art of acupuncture as a technique used to bring the natural balance of Qi (pronounced CHEE), or our life-giving force. Modern Western Medicine generally replaces the word Qi with oxygen. When the body’s Qi is properly balanced (or oxygenated), the result is overall good health. However, if there is a disturbance, blockage or flow becomes insufficient, illness will become present. Qi travels through 14 zones or channels called Meridians. Modern Western Medicine has described these pathways as arteries and veins, the vessels in which our body transports oxygen through blood. The two images below depict the vessels and meridian in the human body, respectively.

It is said that there are 365 acu-points on the human body, most of which have specific energetic functions. Most points are junctions on the body’s internal pathway of the Meridian. Some points, when activated by an acupuncture needle, move Qi toward the center of the body while others bring energy to the skin’s surface.

Modern Western Medicine defines this process as the body’s natural reaction to heal itself. When an area of the human body has sustained an injury, the brain releases a greater than normal blood supply to the area to immediately begin the healing process. In addition, the brain secretes endorphins to block the transmission of nerve endings sending the signals to trigger pain.

The following video goes into greater detail, explaining the function and validity of acupuncture.

Most cigarette smokers report that they smoke to relax and relieve anxiety. Unfortunately, as we all know, “stress relieving” smoke is wreaking havoc in the body. What you may not know is that cigarette smoke is also increasing back pain.

The Oxford Journal on Rheumatology hypothesizes that the reason for a higher of incidence of back pain amongst smokers is that smoking leads to malnutrition of discs, which in turn become more brittle and vulnerable to stress. Nicotine constricts blood vessels (known as nicotine-induced vasoconstriction), and can potentially cause changes to interior arterial walls and blood flow. More efficient blood flow may be the reason why the anti-smoking crowd has less back pain.

A study of 3,222 smokers and non-smokers conducted by the Division of Clinical Epidemiology in Montreal, Canada concluded that smokers have more frequent episodes of back pain than non-smokers, providing further evidence that quitting smoking is an important consideration for back pain sufferers.

We know it’s not easy to quit smoking. We’ve compiled some tips, tricks and resources to help you get through the adjustment period. These tips come from the American Cancer Society’s suggestions about how to kick the smoking habit for good.

Make a definitive decision to quit. Don’t try to cut back, or “think about” quitting smoking. Decide to do it and stick with your plan. Choose a date that you will stop smoking and pick a smoking cessation plan that will work for you.

Stay away from places where smokers convene or where you are used to smoking. Being around other smokers or in places that remind you of smoking may prove to be too tempting at first.

Do something different. Substitute healthy habits for the unhealthy habits you associate with smoking. For example, go for a walk instead of taking a smoke break, drink water or juice instead of alcohol, or purchase an herbal tea in the morning instead of coffee.

When you get a craving to smoke, keep your hands busy. You can try woodworking, knitting, creating pottery or even taking up an instrument. Snack on healthy, crunchy foods, like carrot sticks or seeds. You can chew sugar-free gum. If you are having an exceptionally hard time kicking the smoking habit, many people “take the edge off” by starting with nicotine gum and gradually transition to non-nicotine gums.

Try deep breathing. Inhaling deeply can help simulate that feeling you had while smoking, but you’ll feel better breathing clean air rather than smoke.

If you do break down and feel like you absolutely need a cigarette, force yourself to wait 10 minutes. Often, by the time the 10 minutes are up, the craving has passed and you will be able to skip the cigarette. Distract yourself during that 10 minute span by calling a friend, walking into a store, paying a bill, watching TV, etc.

Save up the money you would have spent each week on cigarettes. Use some of the money to treat yourself to dinner or a movie, book, CD, or other reward for quitting smoking!

Need help kicking the habit? Our office can help! We provide smoking cessation acupuncture treatments that can help you say goodbye to nicotine forever. Are you ready to find the cause of your pain instead of just masking the symptoms? Are you ready to start drug-free pain management, have a treatment plan provided all under one roof and return your body back to its natural state of optimal health? To learn more about our full service chiropractic program or to schedule an appointment, please call (304) 263-4927 today. Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.

The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the US are related to body fatness, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and/or poor nutrition, and thus could also be prevented.

These factors are all related and may all contribute to cancer risk, but body weight seems to have the strongest evidence linking it to cancer. Excess body weight contributes to as many as 1 out of 5 of all cancer-related deaths.

Being overweight or obese is clearly linked with an increased risk of many cancers, including cancers of the:

Breast (in women past menopause)

Colon and rectum

Endometrium (lining of the uterus)

Esophagus

Kidney

Pancreas

Being overweight or obese might also raise the risk of other cancers, such as:

Gallbladder

Liver

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Multiple myeloma

Cervix

Ovary

Aggressive forms of prostate cancer

In addition, having too much belly fat (that is, a larger waistline), regardless of body weight, is linked with an increased risk of colon and rectal cancer, and is probably linked to a higher risk of cancers of the pancreas, endometrium, and breast cancer (in women past menopause).

But the links between body weight and cancer are complex and are not yet fully understood. For example, while studies have found that excess weight is linked with an increased risk of breast cancer in women after menopause, it does not seem to increase the risk of breast cancer before menopause. The reasons for this are not clear.

The timing of weight gain might also affect cancer risk. Being overweight during childhood and young adulthood might be more of a risk factor than gaining weight later in life for some cancers. For example, some research suggests that women who are overweight as teenagers (but not those who gain weight as adults) may be at higher risk for developing ovarian cancer before menopause.

Clearly, more research is needed to better define the links between body weight and cancer.

How might body weight affect cancer risk?

Excess body weight may affect cancer risk through a number of mechanisms, some of which might be specific to certain cancer types. Excess body fat might affect:

Proteins that influence how the body uses certain hormones, such as sex hormone-binding globulin

Does losing weight reduce cancer risk?

Research on how losing weight might lower the risk of developing cancer is limited. Still, there’s growing evidence that weight loss might reduce the risk of breast cancer (after menopause), more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, and possibly other cancers, too.

Some body changes that occur as a result of weight loss suggest it may, indeed, reduce cancer risk. For example, overweight or obese people who intentionally lose weight have reduced levels of certain hormones that are related to cancer risk, such as insulin, estrogens, and androgens.

While we still have much to learn about the link between weight loss and cancer risk, people who are overweight or obese should be encouraged and supported if they try to lose weight. Aside from possibly reducing cancer risk, losing weight can have many other health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Losing even a small amount of weight has health benefits and is a good place to start.

Are you ready to make a change to get healthy? Are you ready to start a doctor supervised weight loss program that really works? No shakes, no points, and no crazy exercise routines! Just a simple plan, supplements and 12 weeks are all you need to lose 10% of your current weight and change your life for the healthier! To learn more about our new ChiroTHIN weight loss program, click here, or call our office today at (304) 263-4927 to schedule an appointment to start the ChiroTHIN program.Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.

The word dermatitis is Greek in origin and means inflammation of the skin. There are many different types of dermatitis, each categorized by the person’s specific symptoms and according to the location of the body affected. Generally speaking, the signature symptoms of dermatitis are itchiness and redness. However, the skin may blister, swell, ooze, scale, scab and/or be warm to the touch as well.

Though there are many sources that can cause dermatitis, it often presents because a substance (or allergen) has caused the skin to have an allergic reaction. The list of allergens that can result in an episode of dermatitis is plentiful, but the most common are chemicals, pollen, dust, mold, animal dander, latex, and some foods and medications. For this, you can understand why it can be challenging to track the source of an allergy.

According to the theory of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, diagnoses for dermatitis include excess heat, wind, dryness and dampness, or any of these in a combination. An excess heat display of dermatitis will present as an itchy, red rash. Dampness can look like an oozing, blistering skin condition. A combination of the two, called damp heat, will possibly present as red skin with oozing yellow fluid. A dry skin condition can have a scaly or scabby appearance.

Most conditions affecting the surface of the body, which includes the skin, are considered wind in nature, according to the theory of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. A good way to equate the term wind with certain types of dermatitis is to imagine the wind carrying gusts of pollen by you and suddenly hives appear. Hives can pop up and spread quickly, mimicking the quick, ethereal nature of wind in general.

No matter what type of symptoms of dermatitis you may have, most likely you will receive treatment not only for your dermatitis, but also any underlying conditions contributing to its development. In some cases, a practitioner may need to strengthen a patients immune system while simultaneously addressing the condition of the skin. If you experience any anxiety due to itching, pain or embarrassment due to an unsightly appearance, feel free to discuss those issues at the time of your visit. (Please note that acupuncture needles are never directly inserted into rashes or anyplace where the skin is broken.)

Are you ready to see how acupuncture could change your life for the better? To learn more about acupuncture or to schedule an appointment for treatment, please call our office at (304) 263-4927 today. Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.

This article by Dr Sarah will have you discovering why functional medicine testing can make a huge impact on your health. Simply discovering the genes that make up your body can be the link to optimal wellness.

One of the problems with modern day medicine is that treatment is tailored to a symptom and everyone with that symptom gets the same treatment protocol. The result is a health care system that spends the most in the world with some of the saddest statistics of efficacy. Although our life expectancy is lengthened by fancy machines that keep us breathing or pump our hearts, our quality of health is not one of vitality.

The problem with symptom-based disease control is that everyone has a different biological makeup, including their ability to excrete and metabolize certain medications and chemicals. Bear in mind, that the body sees any foreign substance as a chemical; therefore, drugs and intoxicants in the environment are removed in the same manner.

Genetic differences in enzyme detoxification pathways, including methylation and sulfation pathways, can cause some individuals to be more susceptible to environmental exposures than others. For example, someone who has a a genetic mutation may have imbalances in clearance and a retention in toxins. This is actually quite common in the general population and their lucky owners are usually diagnosed with “psychosomatic illnesses.” The good news is that, with the new science of nutrigenomics, various nutrients in therapeutic doses can help to remedy the body’s slow detoxification capacity. Knowledge of these and other key pathways unite the art and science of a skilled functional medicine practitioner in their decision on when and how to use functional medicine testing.

Conventional medicine has acknowledged this link between genetics and treatment for some time. It is known that various medications should be tested for individual genetic variations that cause the drug to be ineffective or toxic. The following example from PLoS Genetics explains these genetic mutations and the drug, Warfarin. The anticoagulant drug, Warfarin, is widely prescribed for reducing the risk of stroke, thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and coronary malfunction. However, Caucasians vary widely (20-fold) in the dose needed for therapeutic anticoagulation, and hence prescribed doses may be too low (risking serious illness) or too high (risking severe bleeding). Because each body varies in its metabolism of this drug, it is nearly impossible to get the exact dosage an individual would need to receive a positive therapeutic effect from the pharmaceutical drug.

Are you ready to make a change to get healthy? Are you ready to start a personalized treatment plan that works without the use of pharmaceutical drugs? To learn more about our functional medicine program or to schedule an appointment, please call (304) 263-4927 today. Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.

The majority of the time, the arm pain from a cervical herniated disc can be controlled with medication, and non-surgical (also called conservative) treatments alone are enough to resolve the symptoms.

Once the arm pain starts to improve it is unlikely to return. If the arm pain gets better it is acceptable to continue with nonsurgical treatment, as there really is no literature that supports the theory that surgery for cervical disc herniation helps the nerve root heal quicker.

All treatments for a cervical herniated disc are essentially designed to help resolve the arm pain, and usually the weakness and numbness/tingling will resolve with time.

When the initial pain from a cervical herniated disc hits, anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Nuprin, Motrin) can help reduce the pain.

The pain caused by a cervical herniated disc is caused by a combination of two processes:

Pinching of the nerve root

Inflammation associated with the disc material itself

Therefore, taking anti-inflammatory medications to remove some of the inflammation can reduce this component of the pain while the pressure component (pinching of the nerve root) resolves.

In addition to anti-inflammatory medications mentioned above, there are a number of non-surgical treatment options that can help alleviate the pain from a cervical herniated disc, such as:

Physical therapy and exercise. Just as in the lumbar spine, Mckenzie exercises can be used to help reduce the pain in the arm. In the initial period a physical therapist may also opt to use modalities, such as heat/ice or ultrasound, to help reduce muscle spasm.

Chiropractic manipulation. Gentle manual manipulation can help reduce the joint dysfunction that may be an added component of the pain. This type of low-velocity manipulation is referred to as mobilization. Any high velocity manipulation, often referred to as an adjustment, should be avoided as they can make the pain worse, or worsen any neurological damage.

Osteopathic medicine. Gentle osteopathic manipulation and special techniques to restore normal joint motion can be helpful in reducing pain from a cervical herniated disc.

Activity modification. Some types of activities may tend to exacerbate the herniated disc pain and it is reasonable to avoid these activities to keep from irritating the nerve root. Such activities may include heavy lifting (e.g. over 50 pounds), activities that can cause increased vibration and compression to the cervical spine (boating, snowmobile riding, running, etc.), and overhead activities that require prolonged neck extension and/or rotation.

Bracing. In some instances a cervical collar or brace may be recommended to help provide some rest for the cervical spine.

Are you ready to find the cause of your pain instead of just masking the symptoms? Are you ready to start drug-free pain management, have a treatment plan provided all under one roof and return your body back to its natural state of optimal health? To learn more about our full service chiropractic program or to schedule an appointment, please call (304) 263-4927 today. Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.

There is so much focus on the physical aspect of losing excess weight, that few realize the cognitive and behavioral problems obesity causes in millions of Americans everyday. This article highlights the reversal of mental problems (memory and cognition) with significant weight loss.

The physical benefits of weight loss include decreased blood pressure, improved circulatory system and increased cardiac health. But a new study shows that losing excess weight may also improve concentration and cognitive abilities including memory. John Gunstad, an Assistant Professor of psychology at Kent State University and lead author of the study, said, “We’ve known for a long time that obesity is a risk factor for things like Alzheimer’s disease and stroke, and more recent work really shows that obesity is a link to memory problems and concentration problems before that even begins.” Gunstad went on to discuss the motivation for the study. “If excess weight causes these problems, can losing weight help reverse them? That’s what we wanted to research.”

The study involved performing gastric bypass surgery on one group of obese subjects and comparing their cognitive skills to another group that had not had the surgery. The first group lost an average of 50 pounds after twelve weeks, and then tested at normal or above normal levels for concentration and memory. There was no noticeable improvement in cognitive ability in the group that did not lose any weight. In addition, the findings showed a slight decrease in mental acuity in those same people over the three month period.

Experts know that maintaining a healthy weight can protect people from developing other issues including depression, loss of self-esteem, and anxiety. But these new findings gave evidence to the fact that even those who are heavy have a chance to reverse adverse conditions. The researchers believe that these findings warrant further studies to determine if these same results can be achieved without surgery, but rather by using non-invasive methods including exercise and proper nutrition. “If we can improve the condition with surgery, then we can see if we can produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” they said.

Are you ready to make a change to get healthy? Are you ready to start a doctor supervised weight loss program that really works? No shakes, no points, and no crazy exercise routines! Just a simple plan, supplements and 12 weeks are all you need to lose 10% of your current weight and change your life for the healthier! To learn more about our new ChiroTHIN weight loss program, click here, or call our office today at (304) 263-4927 to schedule an appointment to start the ChiroTHIN program.Dr. Terry Chambers is a Board certified chiropractor and acupuncturist, licensed in WV, and trained to perform functional medicine.